Falls firm to expand to Menomonee Valley
Owner cites growth, downtown appeal
A Menomonee Falls architectural and engineering firm has selected Milwaukee’s Menomonee Valley as the location for an additional office, becoming the latest suburban firm to expand to the downtown area.
Christopher Kidd and Associates LLC wants to operate the office in what is now a warehouse at 422 N. 15th St.
The new office would help accommodate the company’s growth, according to information filed with the Milwaukee Economic and Development Corp. The nonprofit business lender is considering a loan request to help finance the new office.
Christopher Kidd, who owns the firm, said the company has no room left at its Menomonee Falls headquarters, N48 W16550 Lisbon Road. The Milwaukee office will have an architectural studio and some of the corporate offices that are now based in Menomonee Falls, Kidd said Monday.
The Milwaukee office also will help the firm attract younger employees.
“They want to live in the city,” Kidd said.
Several other Milwaukeearea firms have cited that factor in relocating to downtown and its nearby neighborhoods in recent years, including HSA Bank, RDA Enthusiast Brands, Healthcare Business Insights and Plunkett Raysich Architects. Other firms moving to buildings under construction include Bader Rutter and Associates Inc. and Hammes Co., both now based in Brookfield.
Kidd said his firm would have around 10 employees in the Milwaukee office. The Menomonee Falls office has 38 employees, with the firm also operating offices in Sheboygan and Fort Collins, Colo.
The valley building is part of some properties sold in 2015 to a group affiliated with Plum Moving Media Co.
That video production company recently began renovating a neighboring two-story building, at 1418 W. St. Paul Ave., into its new headquarters. Plum will move to that building, once the home of Milwaukee Casket Co., from space it leases in the Historic Third Ward.
Christopher Kidd and Associates will be the main tenant, leasing 7,000 square feet in the three-story, 13,300-square-foot building that is around the corner on N. 15th St., Kidd said. That building would be sold for $435,000 to CCK Properties LLC, a group owned by Kidd.
MEDC would provide a $406,500 loan to help finance the purchase and renovations of the building. The $1.2 million project’s main lender would be Waukesha State Bank.